Case Details

Seeing the mission reward, Bai Yan's heart stirred.

The Snow Drinking Saber was one of the most powerful divine weapons in the Storm World, something every saber wielder dreamed of possessing.

Compared with his Spring Embroidered Saber, it was who-knew-how-many times stronger. With such a divine weapon in hand, his strength could rise by several levels at the very least.

After returning to the Hundred Households Office, Bai Yan summoned Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao, telling them to muster their men and head to the home of the Yongtang tycoon Ye Youcai to investigate.

That Flower Thief had already committed six major crimes around Yongtang. The daughter of the tycoon Ye Youcai was his seventh target.

A day earlier, Ye Youcai had already received a cuckoo flower sent by the Flower Thief.

After receiving the cuckoo flower, Ye Youcai had been terrified and immediately reported the case to the Ministry of Justice.

After the Ministry of Justice transferred the dossier to the Imperial Guard, the task of protecting Ye Youcai's daughter naturally fell to the Imperial Guard.

In Peaceful Ward of Yongtang City, a magnificent residence with six courtyards stood in the heart of the bustling streets. This was the manor of the tycoon Ye Youcai.

Ye Youcai had made his fortune selling wine and liquor. He owned more than fifty restaurants and inns.

In recent years, he had also begun dealing in jewelry. He truly lived up to his name—he had money and wealth, a sprawling household and a thriving business.

Wealth stirred the heart. Ye Youcai had always been exceptionally thorough when it came to protecting his family.

He had hired quite a few Martial Masters as guards, among whom there was no shortage of First-rate Martial Artists.

Yet these guards were hardly worth mentioning before an Innate Master.

Most Innate Masters were proud by nature and could not be recruited with money alone.

Besides, most Innate Masters were not short of money. If they truly needed it, they could find some way to earn a fortune with ease. They disdained serving as guards for merchants.

In the main hall of Night Manor, a stout, middle-aged man dressed in a fine Brocade Robe paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. The golden-thread peonies embroidered on his robe swayed faintly with his movements, but could not conceal the anxiety between his brows.

Every two steps, he would glance toward the hall entrance. His feet moved hurriedly, and he kept sighing, his face filled with worry.

He was the tycoon Ye Youcai.

On a pearwood chair to the left of the hall sat a plump woman.

The woman was over forty, but she had taken excellent care of herself. Her figure looked full and graceful beneath a lotus-root-colored jacket embroidered with magnolias, and her delicate, gentle features still hinted at the stunning beauty of her youth.

She was Ye Youcai's wife, Madam Ye.

Madam Ye clutched a plain handkerchief in her hands and sobbed softly, her shoulders trembling faintly.

"Come now, stop crying."

The sound of her weeping left Ye Youcai agitated. He stopped and turned toward her, irritation coloring his voice, though helplessness outweighed it.

"Am I not trying to think of a solution?"

Madam Ye's sobs only grew louder. She abruptly raised her head, tears sliding down her cheeks as she said mournfully,

"What solution do you have? You thought for an entire day and night, and aren't we still left waiting helplessly? That Flower Thief even dared to wipe out the Yang Family Martial Arts School. What use are all the guards in our household?"

"If anything truly happens to our daughter and her chastity is ruined..."

She choked up and could not continue. Clutching the handkerchief tightly over her mouth, she began to tremble even harder.

"...How could I, as her mother, go on living?"

Her sobs tore at the heart. Ye Youcai had intended to scold her, but seeing her cry like this, he swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue. He could only let out a heavy sigh, turn away, and continue pacing.

He was devoted by nature. After marrying Madam Ye, he had never taken a concubine. In the vast rear courtyard of Night Manor, only the husband and wife had ever kept each other company.

After marrying, they had only one daughter. They had treated her like a precious treasure, fearing she would break if held in their hands and melt if held in their mouths.

In his heart, that daughter was more precious than mountains of gold and silver, more precious even than his own life.

If bandits had set their sights on his property, Ye Youcai would not have been afraid. Money could be earned again. As long as he remained alive, there would always be a chance to rise again.

But this time, the one targeting the Ye family was that utterly depraved Flower Thief. It left him as if he had fallen into an ice cave, despair filling his heart.

Just as Ye Youcai was sweating profusely from anxiety and Madam Ye's sobs were nearly tearing the roof off, the old steward of the manor came rolling and crawling into the main hall, shouting in frantic haste,

"Master! Master! The Imperial Guard officers are here! They're right outside the manor gate!"

"What?!"

Ye Youcai abruptly raised his head. Wild delight burst into his eyes, as though a drowning man had seized a floating log. He said repeatedly, "Quick! Quick, invite them in! No... I'll go welcome them myself!"

With that, Ye Youcai ran toward the hall entrance. He was in such a hurry that he stumbled and nearly fell.

Fortunately, the old steward was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He caught Ye Youcai by the arm, preventing the pampered tycoon from embarrassing himself in public.

For an ordinary household, hearing that the Imperial Guard had come to their door would have sent them flying out of their wits, making them think they had committed some offense and that their home was about to be confiscated and its people arrested.

But at this moment, Ye Youcai's face was filled with excitement.

He knew better than anyone that they had come to save his life.

Bai Yan had just arrived at the gates of Night Manor with two squads of Imperial Guards when he saw a stout, middle-aged man hurrying out from inside.

The man's Brocade Robe was stretched tight across his round belly. As he ran, his paunch bounced up and down as though it might fall out of his belt at any moment. He was too rushed even to wipe away the sweat at his temples.

"You gentlemen must be officers of the Imperial Guard, right?"

The man shouted from far away. By the time he reached them, he was already panting heavily. He bowed deeply to Bai Yan and the others, bending nearly ninety degrees.

"This old man is Ye Youcai. I pay my respects to all the officers! I've waited and waited, hoping for the stars and moon—at last, you've come!"

Perhaps he had bent too quickly. His heavy body lost its balance, and his head plunged straight toward Bai Yan's boot.

Bai Yan was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He reached out and lightly supported the man's arm, and a gentle yet steady force stabilized his body.

"Family Head Ye, there's no need for such courtesy."

Bai Yan withdrew his hand and spoke warmly.

"I am Bai Yan, Brigade Leader of the Imperial Guard. Since we've taken this case, we will naturally ensure the safety of everyone in the Ye family. For now, please tell us the details of the situation."

"Good, good, good!"

Ye Youcai hurriedly agreed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and turned sideways to lead the way.

"Please, officers, come inside. We'll discuss everything in the manor. Come inside and discuss everything!"

The group followed him through the front courtyard of carved beams and painted rafters before arriving at the main hall. Once everyone had taken their seats according to status and the maids had served fragrant tea, Ye Youcai finally steadied himself and began recounting what had happened.

Early yesterday morning, Miss Ye, Ye Lingdang, woke from her sleep and discovered a cuckoo flower beside her pillow.

Its petals were vivid and dripping with color. Crystal-clear dewdrops still clung to the layers of red petals, clearly showing that it had been plucked from the branch only a short while before.

Ye Lingdang's boudoir was always shut tight at night, with the bolt locked from the inside. Other than Ye Lingdang herself or her personal maid, no outsider could possibly have opened it from outside.

Yet the appearance of this flower was telling her that someone had slipped into her room without making a sound while she slept, even leaving a token beside her pillow.

If the other party had harbored evil intentions, she would already have been harmed the night before last.

The thought terrified Ye Lingdang. She hurriedly told her father, Ye Youcai, what had happened.

Ye Youcai was a tycoon of Yongtang with a wide network of connections. He had long heard about the string of Flower Thief cases around Yongtang City, but he had never expected disaster to fall upon his own household.

When he saw the cuckoo flower still beaded with dew, he felt the world spin and was scared out of his wits.

After confirming that his daughter was fully dressed and had not been violated, his clothes were already soaked through with cold sweat. Then another wave of dread struck him—the Flower Thief had clearly set his sights on his daughter!

Ye Youcai immediately prepared a generous gift and rushed to the Ministry of Justice to report the case. He also gathered every Martial Master in the manor that very night, ordering them to guard every inch around the rear residence without leaving their posts. Even the rooftops and corners of the walls were assigned sentries.

But none of it was useful.

Ye Youcai himself knew perfectly well that the Ministry of Justice's men could not protect his daughter.

If the Ministry of Justice's men had truly been able to catch the Flower Thief, the first six cases would never have happened.

Last night, under the combined protection of constables and Martial Masters, the Flower Thief did not appear. They had made it through safely enough.

But Ye Youcai still did not dare relax his vigilance. He knew that although the Flower Thief had not come last night, he would come sooner or later.

Perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps tonight.

The feeling of knowing danger was right before one's eyes yet being able only to tremble and wait for tragedy to descend was worse than death.

Then, early this morning, the constables sent by the Ministry of Justice suddenly withdrew. The chief constable left behind a single statement: the case had been handed over to the Imperial Guard for investigation.

Only at this moment did Ye Youcai finally see a sliver of hope.